Tasty recipes from chef Ronit Penso's kitchen

Burekitas – Sephardic Savory Pastries

Burekitas are a type of small hand pies that are well known in any Sephardic household.
They are the smaller version of Burekas pastries, which are usually made with filo dough or puff pastry and are shaped into a triangular.
Burekitas are smaller, usually made with pie type thicker dough, cut into circles and folded over. The varieties of recipes are many, but all aim at the same result: crumbly, crispy dough with savory filling.
These little pastries are traditionally served for brunch on Saturday, with an array of fresh and cooked salads, hard boiled eggs or egg salad, yogurt, olives and other condiments. However, by now they are served any time, as a light meal or a snack.
No doubt these pastries require a bit of work, but the result is so tasty, it’s definitely well worth the effort. I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ll make and taste these pastries.

Notes:
* The dough is referred to as “boiled dough” in Sephardic households, although only the liquids are boiled. Some recipes use only oil, but this one is my favorite for its wonderful flavor, texture and ease of rolling.
* The potato-cheese filling shown here is the most commonly used. In some older recipes, cooked rice is used instead of the potatoes, but I can see why potatoes took over, as they offer a creamier texture. Other options are: cooked zucchini-tomato (shown HERE), or roasted eggplant with feta cheese.
* Kashkaval cheese is a type of semi-soft yellow cheese from the Balkan. If you can’t find it, use mild Cheddar cheese instead.
* The baked Burekitas freeze well, in an airtight container, for up to a month. For best results, reheat them in a toaster oven, NOT the microwave.

1. The dough: in a medium pot, combine the butter, oil and water. Bring to a boil and take off the heat. Let cool for a minute and add the salt and vinegar and mix. Add the flour and mix until the dough separates from the sides of the pot. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. The filling: place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain and bring to room temperature. Peel and mash coarsely with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and mix to a coarse mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 365F (185C). Line two baking sheet pans with baking paper.
4. Divide the dough in two. Roll one portion on a lightly floured work space, to a thickness of about 0.2″ (0.5cm). Using a 3” (7.5cm) glass, or cookie cutter, cut cut out dough discs. Place 1 tsp of the filling on each circle of dough and fold. Twist the ends together with your fingers and place in the pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough and scraps. Brush the pastries with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastries are golden-brown. Serve warm.

Oh my – be still my heart! The dough looks like a pate choux, which I have used to make profiteroles, but this looks like a much better use of this delicious wrapper. Would reheat well in my Cuisinart Oven Central, too! Hmmmm – copying down recipe. ;->

Thank you Judie!
You’re right, the preparation is very similar to Pate a Choux, with the exception of not adding eggs. It is one of the easiest dough to prepare and very easy to handle.
The Cuisinart Oven Central sounds like the perfect way to reheat these.
I hope you’ll enjoy these little tasty morsels. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂

True. I thought you were warning about the abundance of eggs. Everyone seems to be so cholesterol conscious these days. I was thinking of using maybe fewer eggs, so it would be a cross between the pate choux and pastry.

Looks like our Karanji, could be sweet or savory as I make.
Wish I could grab some of these, I just finished my dinner but still feel hungry for them 😀.
Some new info and knowledge of an unknown dish learnt from your post. Thanks😊.

Great recipe, Ronit, thank you, and very similar to old Russian mushroom or cabbage pies, but they added hard boiled eggs to the filling, to absorb moisture. Do you think mushrooms will work with this dough?

Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I’ve tasted the Russian pastries you’ve mentioned and liked them a lot. But at least the ones I’ve tried were made with yeast dough, so the dough was not as crispy.
I see no reason why this dough will not work with mushroom filling. I just suggest to make sure all the liquids are cooked off, so it will not get soggy.
I hope you’ll enjoy the results. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂

Thank you for your response. Not all Russian pies were made with yeast, and I have a few recipes of prostokvasha-based dough. The liquids are the problem, of course, and that’s why they incorporated chopped boiled eggs – to absorb the liquids. I’ll try your dough and report.

Thank you Suzanne, I’m glad you liked the recipe.
It is indeed a choux dough without the eggs. Very easy to make and roll. The result is very crispy and so very tasty, I find them hard to resist – which is why I don’t make them too often! 🙂

Thank you Peter, I’ve glad you liked this version. I hope you’ll try and enjoy it. I’m quite addicted to it myself!
And now it occurred to me I didn’t see you posts on my Reader for a while. I wonder what happened. I’ll check it out.

The Burekitas look wonderful. I also enjoyed clicking on links for related recipes. As someone who loves trying old recipes, I’m fascinated by your grandmother’s Boyos recipe . . . and then I wanted to see how you used the Swiss Chard stems so clicked on the Cooked Salad recipe. I’m going to have a try one or more of these recipes.

Thank you Sheryl, I’m very glad you liked the recipes.
Sephardic dishes are quite often time consuming, but the result is always fabulous. I like the challenge of documenting some of these recipes, as most were passed from one generation to another simply by cooking together.
If you’re interested in looking at other recipes, check under this link for all Sephardic dishes I have posted so far:https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/?s=Sephardic